Track spike with angularly related neck webs



Aug. 25, 1964 c. H. sANDBERc 3,145,929

TRACK sPTKE WITH ANGULARLY RELATED NECK wEBs Filed Jan. 9, 1962 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Tll.

Q INVENTOR.

CLIFFORD H. Samar-:rae

HTTOENE Y Aug. 25, 1964 C, H SANDBERG 3,145,929

E TRACK sPIxEwITH ANGULAELY RELATED NECK wEBs Filed Jan. 9. 1962 1 5sheets-sheet s w MWL-Z fm?"WWK INVENTOR, CLU-Foren H. Sn-NDBEEG -I- I lHTTENEY Aug 25, 1964 c. H. sANDBl-:RG 3,145,929

TRACK SPIKE WITH ANGULARLY RELATED NECK wEBs Filed Jan. 9, 1962 Ssheets-sheet 4 TAEEE.

' INVBNTOR CLIFFORD H. SQNDBERQ FPTTOENEY United States Patent O3,145,929 TRACK SPIKE WITH ANGULARLY RELATED NECK WEBS Clifford H.Sandberg, 5000 West Hills Drive, Topeka, Kans. Filed Jan. 9, 1962, Ser.No. 165,174 13 Claims. (Cl. 23S-371) The invention relates in general torailroad track equipment, and more particularly to improved railroadsp1kes.

The invention constitutes an improvement over railroad spikes such asshown in Sandberg Patent 2,401,967, dated June ll, 1946, and in GodfreyPatent 2,650,032, dated August 25, 1953. The prior spikes have aiseriesof deformable rejections on the throat or neck to insure a tight litbetween the spike and tie plate hole in spite of tolerance variations inspike and hole.

The Godfrey spike, sometimes referred to as a Racor stud, has gone intoextensive commercial use, especially as a so-callecl anchor spike, thatis, a spike passmg through a tie plate hole remote from the rail. Ingeneral, it has performed most satisfactorily its intended function ofproviding a tight bond between the spike and the tie plate. The Godfreyspike maintains its tight lit in tie plate hole and holds the tie plateagainst all horizontal movement on the wooden tie caused by passage oftrains and other causes. Use of the spike has eliminated throat cuttingof the spike and spike killing of the wooden tie.

However, the Racor stud has certain drawbacks in that it is not adaptedfor use in line position, that is, adjacent the rail, and in that itrequires certain amount of care to manufacture it, with attendant cost.

Objects of the present invention are to overcome the above drawbacks; toprovide spikes that can be used in both anchor and line positions andwhich will become tightly bonded in the tie plate holes; and to producespikes requiring less care to manufacture and at lower costs.

In general, the objects of the invention are accomplished by making useof standard steel sections, such as angle irons or channel irons. Forexample, when using an angle iron, the angle iron forms the main body orshank of the spike. The lower end of the shank is pointed. The neck ofthe spike is formed by flaring the Webs to an angle greater than 90. Thehead of the spike is formed by flaring the webs to an angle greater thanthe neck flare.

In the case of a channel iron, for example, the channel iron forms themain body or shank of the spike. Its lower end is pointed. The neck ofthe spike is formed by daring the side webs, and in some cases also theback web, to dimensions larger than the corresponding dimensions of thetie plate hole. The head of the spike is formed by bending the back webto form a suitable flange or by bending both back web and side webs toform suitable abutments corresponding to the under sides of the head ofa standard conventional cut spike.

When these spikes, formed from standard steel sections, are driventhrough a tie plate hole into a tie, the expanded webs at the neckengage the opposite walls of the tie plate hole and are held in a stateof elastic compression by the walls of the hole. Thus the spike isbonded to the tie plate and holds the tie plate against movement bothlengthwise and transversely of the rail.

The angle form is intended for use primarily in anchor position whilethe channel forms may be used in either anchor position or lineposition.

Other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent fromthe following description when considered with the following drawings inwhich:

3,145,929; Patented Aug. 25, 1964 FIGS. 1-6 illustrate steps in themanufacture of one form of angle spike according to the invention.

FIG. 1 is an end view of an angle iron from which the angle spike ismade.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the angle iron showing its lower end cutto form a point.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views, corresponding to FIGS. l and 2, showing theblank of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the upper ends of the webs bent outwardly.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views, corresponding to FIGS. 3 and 4, illustratinghow the upper end of the blank is further flared to form the head of thefinished spike.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the finished angle spike of FIGS. 1-6,looking at the open side of the angle, to better illustrate the neckflare and the head flare, and the fit in a tie plate square hole,section taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 20.

FIG. 7(a) is a side elevation of a modified angle spike having notchesfor engagement by a spike puller, showing the fit in a tie plate squarehole.

FIGS. 8 to 19 illustrate the steps to making a spike from a channeliron.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the channel iron, with the lower end pointedand the upper end slitted to form a back strip and side wings, and withthe upper ends of the side wings cut off.

FIG. 9 is a top view of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a side View of the blank shown in FIG. 8, showing the backstrip (in dot and dash lines) bent outwardly.

FIG. l1 is a side elevation of the blank after the side wings have beenbent outwardly and then inwardly to form head shoulders.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of FIG. 11, showing the back strip in itsoutwardly bent position.

FIG. 13 is a side elevation of FIG. 1l, strip in outwardly bentposition.

FIG. 14 illustrates the blank of FIGS. 11 to 13 after the side webs atthe neck have been liared.

FIG. l5 is a top plan View, and FIG. 16 is a side elevation, of theblank shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a front elevation of the finished spike.

FIG. 18 is a top plan view, and FIG. 19 is a side elevation, of thefinished spike, after the back strip has been bent back to form a headshoulder.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of an assembly of a rail, tie plate and tie,showing an angle spike and one form of channel spike in anchor positionand another form of channel spike in line position.

FIG. 2l is a side elevation showing back of the assembly of FIG. 20.FIG. 22 is a plan section, on the line 22-22 of FIG. 2l, illustratingthe elastic compression lit of an angle spike neck in the tie platehole.

FIG. 23 is a section on the line 23-23 of FIG. 21, illustrating theelastic compression lit of a channel spike neck in the tie plate hole.

FIG. 24 is an elevational section, taken on the line 24-24 of FIG. 23,illustrating the lit of a channel spike in the tie plate hole.

FIG. 25 is a side elevation of a further modified channel spike whoseneck is flared on three sides.

FIG. 26 is an end elevation of the spike shown in FIG. 25, looking atthe open end of the channel.

FIG. 27 is a plan view of the spike of FIGS. 25 and 26, showing theflanged head.

FIG. 28 is a horizontal section through the spike of FIGS. 25 to 27,showing a t of the neck in a tie plate square hole.

FIG. 29 is a side elevation of the further form of channel spike inwhich entire length of the channel is ared.

FIG. 30 is an end elevation view of the spike of FIG. 29, looking intothe open end of the channel.

FIG. 31 is a plan section illustrating the fit of a channel spike neckin a tie plate round hole.

FIG. 32 is a plan section illustrating the fit of an angle spike neck ina tie plate round hole.

In the following description and in the claims, various details will beidentified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended tobe as generic in their application as the art will permit.

Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures ofthe drawings.

In the accompanying drawings and description forming part of thisspecification, certain specific disclosure of the invention is made forpurposes of explanation, but it will be understood that the details maybe modified in various respects without departure from the broad aspectof the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. and 21, aconventional rail 1t) is shown supported by a conventional tie plate 11which in turn rests upon a conventional wooden tie 12. An angle spike 13and one form of channel spike 19, according to present invention, isshown in another position. Another form of channel spike 14, accordingto the present invention, is shown in line position. It will beunderstood that channel spikes according to the present invention may beused in both line and anchor positions but, at the present time, it isintended to use the angle spikes in anchor position only.

The tie plate 11 may have the usual seat 15 with ribs or shoulders, oneof which is denoted by 16, extending lengthwise of the rail. The plate,as shown, has four square holes on each side of the rail; the two lineholes one of which is indicated by 1'7 pass through the shoulders 16 andthe two anchor holes one of which is indicated by 18 are spacedoutwardly therefrom. All holes are of the same nominal size, for exampleUG x UAG inch.

As shown in FIG. 7, opposite walls of the holes 17 and 18 are parallelfrom the bottom up to a point part way their length, from which pointthey flare slightly upwardly, as at 23. This flare is caused by thepunching operation during manufacture.

The rail may be a standard T-rail having head 20, web 21 and base llange22. The tie 12 is the conventional wooden tie which may be of eitherso-called hard wood or soft wood, with the grain usually running thelength of the tie. The tie may be pre-bored for spikes, in accordancewith conventional practice, or it may not be pre-bored.

Referring now to FIGS. l to 7, the angle spike 13 will now be described.It comprises a shank 25, a point 26, a neck 27, and head 28. Theconstruction of the angle spike may be better understood by consideringone method of making it.

The spike may be made from an angle iron as shown in FIGS. l and 2. Thisiron may be a standard rolled section whose webs 30 are disposed at anangle of 90; or the iron may be fabricated from plate bent to form thewebs 30.

The lower end of the spike is cut to form the point 26. The neck 27 isformed by flaring the webs 30 to an angle greater than 90, as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. The head 28 is formed by ilaring the webs 30 to an anglestill greater than the angle of llare at the neck.

The dimensions of the spike may be varied to suit the size of the tieplate hole. As an example of one form of spike which has beensuccessfully tested, the square anchor hole of the tie plate had anominal size of 11/16 x 11/16 inch. The angle iron stock had a size x Aainch; the material was Vs inch thick; the head 2S of the spike was 3%:inch long; the neck 27 was 11A inches long; the shank including point 26was 4 inches long.

The angle spike 13 may be driven in substantially the same manner asconventional cut spikes. The tie 12 may be pre-bored, or it may not bepre-bored. As the spike is driven through the square tie plate hole andinto the 4 tie, the shank 25 passes loosely through the tie plate hole13. Until the neck 27 reaches the tie plate hole, the driving force willbe resisted only by the wooden tie. The shank forms a tight llt with thewood of the tie.

As the flared webs 30 of the neck 27 Contact the walls of its square tieplate hole 13 (FIGS. 7, 21 and 22) the flared webs are forced backtoward their normal position of to each other. The remote edges of theangle iron tightly and rigidly engage diagonally opposite corners of thetie plate hole 18, as shown especially in FIG. 22, and is held inelastically compressed condition.

The spike will be driven until the neck 27 engages the walls of the hole18 with sufficient compression to bond it tightly to the tie plate; thiscan be ascertained by the force required to drive the spike home. In anyevent, the driving will be discontinued when the head 28 engages thehole.

In this manner the spike becomes bonded to the tie plate and effectivelyanchors the tie plate 11 both lengthwise of the rail and transversely ofthe rail. The llare or spead of the neck 27 is sufficient to take careof all tolerance variations in both the spike itself and in the tieplate hole 1S.

The flare of the head 28 will be sufficient to provide an abutment forthe ordinary claw bar which is inserted under the head for pulling thespike. The head 23 will withstand the blows of the ordinary maul usedfor driving the spike.

Referring to FIG. 7(a), the spike here shown is made similarly to thespike of FIGS. 1-7, except that the head 2S has the same flare as neck27. Neck 27 and head 28 have the flare shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The head28' is provided with notches 31 to facilitate engagement with the spikepuller.

Referring now to FIGS. 17-19, one form of channel spike will now bedescribed. Spike 14 comprises a shank 35, a point 36, a neck 37 and ahead 38. The flared webs at the neck engage walls of the tie plate hole17 and are held in a state of elastic compression by the walls of thehole, thus bonding the spike to the tie plate.

The construction of the channel spike 14 may be better understood byconsidering one method by which it may be made.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, the channel spike 14 is made from a channeliron having back web 39 and side Webs 40 as shown. This channel iron maybe a standard rolled section, or it may be fabricated from plate bent toform the channel. The lower end of the spike is cut to form the chiselpoint 36. The neck and head are formed as follows:

The fillets of the upper end are cut to provide slits 41 forming sidewings 42 and a back strip 43. The upper ends of the side wings 42 arecut olf, the cut olf pieces being indicated by 44. The pieces 44 arediscarded. The back strip 43 is then bent backwardly. The side wings 42are then bent outwardly and then inwardly to form opposed flanges,forming part of head 38, as shown in FIGS. 11-13.

The side wings 42 at the neck are then bent outwardly to form anglesgreater than 90 with respect to the back Web 39 as shown in FIGS. 14-16.The back strip 43 is then bent outwardly and then inwardly to form allange overlying the opposed flanges of side wings 42 to complete thehead 38 as shown in FIGS. 17-19.

It will thus be seen that the assembly of overlying flanges provides ahead 38; back strip 43 is used to overlie the base flange 22 of the railwhen the spike is used in line position. The side wings 42 formshoulders under which a conventional claw bar may be engaged for pullingthe spike.

The dimensions of the channel spikes may be varied to suit the size ofthe tie plate hole. For example, the following dimensions apply to aspike for use in a square line hole of a tie plate having a nominal sizeof 11/16 x 11/16 inch. The channel iron stock had a nominal size of 5/8X 5/8 inch; the material wasls inch thick. The head 3S of the spike was7/16 inch long lengthwise of the spike, the neck 37 was 1% inches long,the shank 35 including point Was 41%@ inches long.

This channel spike of FIGS. 8-19 may be used in both line and in anchorposition. In either case, it is driven home in substantially the samemanner as conventional cut spikes. As the spike is driven through thetie plate square hole, and into the tie, the shank passes looselythrough the tie plate hole until the neck 37 reaches the tie plate hole.

As the flared webs of the neck 37 contact the walls of the square tieplate hole, the flared side webs 40 are forced back toward their normalposition of 90 to the back web 39. The spike is held by the tie plate inelastically compressed condition. The spike thus becomes bonded to thetie plate and eifectively anchors the tie plate. The spike is bonded tothe tie plate lengthwise of the rail by elastic compression of side webs40 against the adjoining walls 45 (FIG. 23) of the tie plate hole, andtransversely of the rail by friction of side webs 40 against walls 45.

The flare or Spread of the neck is suicient to take care of alltolerance variations in both the spike itself and in the tie plate hole.

It will be understood that, when using the channel spike 14, or, in factany spikes in line position, the head is not driven down tight againstthe base ange of the rail. As shown in FIG. 21, a small space of perhapsl is left between the head 38 and the rail ange 22.

It will be understood that the passage of car wheels over the rail 10impresses a series of wave motions on the rail. One of the wave motionsis of such nature as to raise the spike slightly when the head 38 isdriven down tight against the base ilange 22. It is for this reason thatthe spike is left in slightly raised position.

Although the gripping action between the spike and the tie plate hole isnot sufficient to prevent raising the spike when its head is driven downtight against the base flange, the bonding action is suicient to preventfurther rising of the spike out of the tie plate hole when once thesmall clearance between head 38 and rail base flange 22 is established.

Referring now to FIGS. 25-28, a further form of channel spike will nowbe described. In this form the shank is denoted by 55, chisel point by56, neck by 57 and head by 58. v

The neck and head of the spike 19 is formed as follows:

The upper end of the channel is slitted at 65 at the llets (FIG. 28) toseparate the side webs 60 from the back web 59. Both the back web 59 andside webs 6i) are bent outwardly to form flared portions 61 and 62 atthe neck 57 of the spike. The longer back strip 62 is then bentoutwardly to form back wing 63. The tops of the side webs 61 are thenbent outwardly to form wings 64.

The head 53 is thus formed by the back strip 63 and the side wings 64.The back wing 63 of the head is adapted to overlie the base flange ofthe rail when the spike is used in line position. The side wings 64 ofthe head form shoulders under which a spike puller may be engaged forpulling the spike.

It will be understood that the neck 37 of the channel spike shown inFIGS. 8-19 may also be formed by extending the slits 41 the length ofthe neck 37 and flaring the back web outwardly as well as the side webs,as in the construction of FIGS. 25-27. Likewise, the neck 57 of FIGS.25-27 may be formed by leaving the fillets at the neck unslitted andflaring only the side webs 60 following the teachings of FIGS. 8-ll9.

The channel spike of FIGS. 25-28 may be used in both anchor and linepositions. It is driven in substantially the same manner as theconventional cut spike. As the spike is driven through the tie platesquare hole 18,

6 and into the tie 12, the shank 55 passes loosely through the tie platehole until the ared neck 57 reaches the tie plate hole.

As the flared side and back webs 61, 62 of the neck contact the fourwalls of the square tie plate hole 18, the flared webs of the channelare forced back toward their normal position, as shown in FIG. 28. Thespike 19 is thus held in elastically compressed condition by the fourwalls of the tie plate hole and thus becomes elastically bonded to thetie plate 11, both lengthwise of the rail and transversely of the rail.

Referring now to FIGS. 29 and 30, a further form of channel spike isshown. Here the head is denoted by 70, neck by 71, shank by 72, andchisel point by 73. In this form the side webs 74 are cut olf at the topleaving a projecting back web which is bent over to form a back wing 75adapted to overlie the base flange 22 of the rail when used in lineposition.

In FIGS. 29 and 30 the side webs 74 are shown as flared or bentoutwardly from their normal position with respect to the backweb 76 forthe entire length of the spike. When driving such a spike,` the shankwill bind against the walls of the tie plate hole as it passestherethrough but, the liare will be suflicient that the neck 71 will beheld in the state of elastic compression by the walls of the tie platehole. Thus the neck 71 of the spike is bonded to the tie plate and thespike holds the tie plate against movement lengthwise of the rail andtransversely of the rail.

Both angle spike and channel spike have been described above as engagingin the tie plate square holes. It will be understood that these spikesmay also be used with tie plate round holes, particularly in anchorposition.

Referring to FIG. 31, it will be noted that the ared webs at the neck 79of the channel spike are compressed by the walls of the round hole 80.As shown in FIG. 32, the webs at the neck 81 of the angle spike arecompressed bythe walls of the round hole 82. In both FIGS. 3l and 32 thecompression of the neck effectively bonds the spike to the tie platehole and holds the tie plate against movement both lengthwise andtransverse of the rail.

With the round hole, it is not necessary for the webs of standard angleor channel sections to be expanded from normal 90 position beforeinsertion of the spike in the hole. It is only necessary that theunstressed position of the webs occupy a greater space than the roundhole permits, so that the Webs must he compressed from unstressedposition to drive them into the hole.

In fact, as shown in FIG. 32, it is desirable in sorne cases to have theangle iron of such size, with respect to the hole, that the webs must becompressed to an angle less than normal 90 to enter the hole. In suchconstruction the edges of the webs engage the hole wall on the oppositeside of the hole diameter 83 from the apex of the angle, thus providingmore effective anchoring action.

Thus improved spikes are provided, having many advantages over priorspikes. The spikes may be made at less cost. They are lighter in weightand require less costly fabrication than either the conventional cutspikes or the Racor studs above referred to. They may be made fromstandard rolled sections and fabricated on a stamping machine.

These advantages are obtained while retaining the advantages of theRacor stud, of tight bonding to the tie plate, reduced throat cutting ofthe spike, and reduced spike killing of the wooden tie. The improvedspikes may be driven by conventional maul or by machine; they may bepulled by conventional claw bar or by machine.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosedherein, and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understoodthat, in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents, various omissions,substitutions and changes may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railroad track assembly, a wooden tie, a metal tie plate restingon said tie, said tie plate having a hole, a spike disposed in said holeand in said tie, said spike comprising a shank, a neck, and a head, theneck of said spike having a cross section of angularly related webs, thethickness of said webs being less than their width, said webs definingan open space therebetween, said webs tending to occupy an angularrelation greater lthan that permitted by the size of the hole, said neckbeing held in a state of elastic compression by the walls of said hole,the compression causing said webs to ilex angularly Ithus bonding thespike to the tie plate.

2. In the assembly of claim 1, said neck having a cross sectioncorresponding to an angle section of but two webs.

3. In the assembly of claim 2, the head having a cross section ofangularly related webs, the webs of said head occupying a larger anglethan the angle between webs of said neck.

4. In the assembly of claim 2, the cross section of said tie plate holebeing rectangular, the remote edges of the webs at said neck beingelastically held in diagonally opposite corners of said tie plate hole.

5. In the assembly of claim 2, said shank having a cross sectioncorresponding to an angle section of but two webs, said head having anenlarged portion for engagement by a spike-removing tool.

6. In the assembly of claim l, said neck having a cross sectioncorresponding yto a channel section.

7. In the assembly of claim 6, the cross section of said tie plate holebeing rectangular, the side 'webs of said channel section elasticallyengaging opposite walls of said hole. 4 8. In the assembly of claim 7,the corners connecting the back and side Webs of said channel sectionhaving slits running lengthwise of the channel section, said webselastically engaging all four walls of said hole.

9. A railroad track spike for use with a metal tie plate resting on awooden tie for the purpose of minimizing sliding movement of the tieplate on the tie under the action of railroad traic, said tie platehaving a hole; said spike comprising a shank, a neck and a head, saidspike being made from an angle section of uniform cross section, saidangle section having but two angularly related Webs, the neck webs beingbent to make the angle between the neck webs greater than the anglebetween the shank webs to enable the neck to elastically bond in saidtie plate hole.

10. The spike of claim 9, the head webs being bent to make the anglebetween the head webs greater than the angle between the neck webs tofacilitate engagement by a spike-removing tool.

11. A railroad track spike for use with a metal tie plate resting on awooden tie for the purpose of minimizing lsliding movement of the tieplate on the tie under the action of railroad traffic, said tie platehaving a hole; said spike comprising a shank, a neck and a head, saidspike being made from a channel section of uniform cross section, thechannel section having angularly related back and side webs, said neckwebs being bent outwardly to greater dimension than the shank webstoelastically bond in said tie plate hole, said head having slits at thecorners between its back web and side webs to form back and side wings,said head back wing being bent outwardly to overlie the flange of arailroad rail, said head side wings being bent outwardly to formshoulders under which a spike-removing tool may be engaged.

12. The spike of claim 11, said neck having slits coextensive with saidhead slits.

13. A railroad track spike for use with a metal tie plate resting on awooden tie for the purpose of minimizing sliding movement of the tieplate on the tie under the action of railroad traiic, said tie platehaving a hole; s aidspike comprising a shank, a neck and a head, saidspike being made from a section of uniform cross section, said sectionhaving angularly related webs, said neck webs being bent outwardly togreater dimension than the shank webs to elastically bond in the tieplate hole, said head webs being bent outwardly beyond the neck webs tofacilitate engagement with a spike-removing tool.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 141,810Nichols Aug. 12, 1873 2,650,032 Godfrey Aug. 25, 1953 2,777,642 SpencerIan. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 192,492 Great Britain Feb. 5, 1923 920,221Germany Nov. 15, 1954

11. A RAILROAD TRACK SPIKE FOR USE WITH A METAL TIE PLATE RESTING ON AWOODEN TIE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MINIMIZING SLIDING MOVEMENT OF THE TIEPLATE ON THE TIE UNDER THE ACTION OF RAILROAD TRAFFIC, SAID TIE PLATEHAVING A HOLE; SAID SPIKE COMPRISING A SHANK, A NECK AND A HEAD, SAIDSPIKE BEING MADE FROM A CHANNEL SECTION OF UNIFORM CROSS SECTION, THECHANNEL SECTION HAVING ANGULARLY RELATED BACK AND SIDE WEBS, SAID NECKWEBS BEING BENT OUTWARDLY TO GREATER DIMENSION THAN THE SHANK WEBS TOELASTICALLY BOND IN SAID TIE PLATE HOLE, SAID HEAD HAVING SLITS AT THECORNERS BETWEEN ITS BACK WEB AND SIDE WEBS TO FORM BACK AND SIDE